I’d like to apologize for being, frankly, a bit of a cunt. The way I used to ramble on about friends’ and past lovers’ smoking habits verged on insane. Breaking entire packets’ worth of cigarettes in twain or throwing them out of moving cars? Yeah I did that. All the while usually wielding a semi-poisonous, yet socially acceptable glass of pinot noir. At the heart of my tirades was nothing but love and concern for my victims, I swear, but with age brings wisdom and hindsight about just how annoying that must have been. My apology comes through breath not only laden with regret but the slightest hint of nicotine…

Since living in various regions of Europe, where sitting alfresco chain smoking and chain coffee-ing is an inherent part of the culture I have to admit that I did my fair share of both. Yes friends, the outspoken nicotine Nazi herself finally succumbed to your smoky ways.

I never got to the point of ever buying my own packet or even finishing a whole cigarette but to be honest I sure did start to like the cheeky drags that were becoming more and more commonplace.

Nicotine stained handfuls of my European friends have got onboard with the clunkily named yet sleekly designed e-cigarettes, in a bid to cut down and eventually quit. Out of those aforementioned handfuls of friends, few of them have ceased buying cigarettes and now simply have a slightly used vaporizer weighing down their bags as well.

Being a lover of all things vintage I can see the appeal of toting something reminiscent of the flapper girls most iconic accessory. Oh and let’s not forget the ice-cream flavored tobacco that’s appealing enough for my baby sister to get into. Is the end near for the traditional cigarette industry? Doubtful. The super fashionable e-cigarette is just that – a fashion, which means once you’ve finally finished buying all the separate pieces they’ll be on their way out.

Besides, without cigarettes and all the paraphernalia that goes with it how would we approach strangers? Asking someone for a lighter was the one icebreaker that stood the test of time even for todays socially inept masses.

“Do you have a refillable tobacco vaporization unit?” Doesn’t really have the same ring to it.